Shotlist

"Today, as so many generations have before, we gather on our National Mall to tell an essential part of our American story, one that at times has been overlooked."

2. Cutaway of Obama speaking

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3. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama:

"This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don't merely coexist, but inform each other. How men could proudly win the gold for their country, but still insist on raising a black-gloved fist, how we can wear an 'I can't breathe' t-shirt and still grieve for fallen police officers. Here's the America where the razor-sharp uniform of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff belongs alongside the cape of the 'Godfather of Soul'."

4. Cutaway of Obama speaking

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5. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama:

"But over the years, I have always been comforted as I have watched this museum rise from this earth into this remarkable tribute. Because I know that years from now, like all of you, Michelle and I will be able to come here to this museum, and not just bring our kids, but hopefully our grandkids. I imagine holding a little hand of somebody, and tell them the stories that are enshrined here. And in the years that follow, they'll be able to do the same. And then we'll go to the Lincoln Memorial, and we'll take a view atop the Washington Monument, and together we'll learn about ourselves as Americans, our sufferings, our delights, and our triumphs, and we'll walk away better for it."

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6. Family spanning four generations

7. Various of President Obama and First Lady Obama ringing bell with a family spanning four generations

8. President Obama and First Lady Obama walking into museum

Storyline

The first national museum devoted exclusively to the history and culture of African-Americans is now open.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama opened the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall by ringing a bell from a historic African-American church.

The museum is the 19th and the newest of the Smithsonians.

The push for the museum began in 1915 with African-American Civil War veterans looking for a way to commemorate America's black experience. Former President George W. Bush signed the law authorizing the construction in 2003.

Georgia Congressman John Lewis co-sponsored legislation authorizing the museum. The civil rights icon said the bronze-colored museum "is more than a building, it is a dream come true."